


Snug as Bugs in a Rug

by Sproid



Category: due South
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-17
Updated: 2013-11-17
Packaged: 2018-01-01 20:25:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1048216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sproid/pseuds/Sproid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As soon as they get back onto dry land, Ray is going to kick Welsh in the head.</p>
<p>-- -- -- -- --</p>
<p>For the shippy tropes prompt "Forced to share a bed".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snug as Bugs in a Rug

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wagnetic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wagnetic/gifts).



As soon as they get back onto dry land, Ray is going to kick Welsh in the head.

“A nice cruise”, Welsh had said. “Think of it as a paid holiday. A stake-out with a buffet. All you and Constable Fraser have to do is get on the boat, follow Fredericks, and see if you can figure out what he’s up to. It’ll be a walk in the park.”

Ray wasn’t too keen about any of it. Water, unknown territory; being on water and in unknown territory with Fraser, who had a knack for combining those two things in ways that gave Ray nightmares sometimes. Plus, he’d kinda been looking forward to a few proper nights in his own bed, and maybe hanging out with Fraser over the weekend.

“The captain assures me that he’ll make sure you’re both as snug as bugs in a very expensive rug,” Welsh had said over Ray’s objections.

“It’ll be an excellent opportunity to get away from the stresses of Chicago,” Fraser added. And he looked so excited, dammit, so ready to jump at the chance to get away - not that it was obvious, just the way he broke his at-ease-still-stiff posture to turn those puppy-dog eyes on Ray - that Ray just couldn’t say no.

Maybe he’d kick Fraser in the head, too.

Snug as bugs in a rug, sure, yeah. Bugs that only had one damn rug between them, and alright that rug is a really comfy-looking bed with a ton of pillows, probably the biggest bed on the ship, but a) it’s on a _ship_ so it’s not actually all that big and b) _there is only one bed_.

The captain had been very apologetic when he’d showed them into the room, all “ the cruise is sold-out, I’m afraid”, and “I’m sure you fellows are used to making the best of a bad situation”. Fraser had just nodded along and agreed, while Ray had panicked silently and tried not to show it.

The thing is, Ray doesn’t object to sharing a bed with Fraser. At all. Hell, if Fraser was _offering_ , Ray would jump at the chance. Some parts of him more than others. There’s the metaphorical kind of jumping, like his brain would do, and the literary kind of jumping like his dick would do.

Literal. Whatever.

Fraser hasn’t offered though. Not yet. Ray thinks he might, one day, but as of right now, Fraser has yet to do anything other than be super-nice to Ray and maybe possibly flirt in a very understated, ‘stop as soon as Ray shows any signs of picking up on it, no, Ray, I was reaching for the popcorn not your hand’, kind of way.

Ray doesn’t mind that, either. They spent three months out on the ice together, nothing happened, and it was the best time of Ray’s life. Fraser was all big smiles and happy enthusiasm, pointing everything out to Ray, hands all over him showing him how to steer the sled and use snowshoes, soft and relaxed and open in the tent at night when they were both worn-out and talking to each other just because they could. 

Ray learned more about Fraser in those three months than the entire time they’d worked together, and fell for him just about as hard as he thinks Fraser fell for him. When you’re out on the ice with a sleeping bag and a tent for warmth though, and you’ve only got each other and a team of dogs to rely on, leaping into each other’s sleeping bags to fuck isn’t exactly at the top of anyone’s priorities. Plus, who the hell has the energy after walking for twelve hours a day? Not Ray, that’s for sure.

Anyway, the long and short of it is that Ray is pretty sure that he and Fraser have a mutual appreciation of the romantic and sexy kind going on, but neither of them have come out and said it, and it turns out that a romantic cruise is the kind of thing that really sets Ray’s nerves on edge. Too much pressure, dammit, they’re supposed to be working, he doesn’t need the stress of knowing that he’s got to share a bed with Fraser for the next three nights running.

“...Ray. Ray. Ray.”

“Huh?”

Ray shakes his head, and comes back out of his head to find Fraser looking at him from across the bed. Damn, that smart blue sweater really suits him, Frannie knew what she was doing when she dragged Fraser shopping before they set off on this.

Ray might have to kick Frannie as well, just a bit. Shouldn’t she be on his side? That does not include putting Fraser in clothes that bring out his eyes. Because that makes Ray want to bring Fraser out of his clothes, and he has a hard enough time not thinking about that as it is.

“Are you alright, Ray?” Fraser asks, tilting his head to one side.

“Sure, Fraser, why wouldn’t I be?”

For a moment longer, Fraser looks at him. Then he shrugs. “No reason.” Looking at his watch, he adds, “It’s getting late. Perhaps we should turn in? We can start our investigation early tomorrow morning.”

Ray breathes a careful sigh of relief that Fraser is apparently willing to carry on letting things lie. “Sure,” he agrees. “I’ll just-”

He means to finish that with “Go get changed,” and then skedaddle to the bathroom. Instead he just stops, because Fraser just strips that sweater off over his head, followed by his shirt, and turns away to drape them neatly over the back of the chair. Meanwhile, Ray stares at the play of muscles in Fraser’s back, and decides that he needs to kick himself as well, for not remembering that Fraser never wastes any time getting into bed once they’ve agreed that it’s time for sleep.

There hadn’t been as much light as this in their tent. Ray only just manages to drag his eyes away when Fraser bends to unlace his shoes, and definitely does not look, even though he can hear the drag of denim as Fraser works his jeans down.

Getting undressed himself probably isn’t the best idea right now, but Ray has to do _something_ to distract himself. Boxer-clad and nervous, he then escapes into the bathroom, and spends twice as long brushing his teeth as he normally would. 

He thinks he’s talked himself into something resembling control, until he walks back into the bedroom. Fraser’s settled down on one side of the bed, covers drawn up to his waist, bare-chested above that, arms drawn up and hands laced behind his head as he looks over at Ray. The room is chilly, and Fraser looks really, _really_ warm, just perfect for snuggling up to, with that soft look in his eyes that’s the same one as he gets sometimes when Ray’s done something stupidly heroic/idiotic that Fraser approves of. 

It’s overwhelmingly inviting. There’s no way Ray’s going to make it through the night without embarrassing himself.

“Look, Fraser,” he starts, as his feet carry him across the room to hover at the edge of the bed. He keeps his eyes above Fraser’s neck, just. “I, uh…”

“Yes, Ray?”

“Look, it’s just, it’s been a long time since I shared a bed with anyone, OK? And it’s cold out here, and you’re like a full-sized hot water bottle, and I’ve always been a cuddler. Stella used to call me an octopus, and she never minded, but that don’t mean that you won’t. I get in there, I swear to you I’ll do my best to stick to my side of the bed. You might still wake up with more of me than you were expecting though, so I’ll just say sorry now, and that way we won’t have any awkwardness to deal with. Right?”

“Alright, Ray,” Fraser says, like it doesn’t bother him at all that he might end up acquainted with way more of Ray than he’s got ahold of so far.

Ray gets in and stays as close to his side of the bed as possible. On his side, Fraser reaches out and turns the lamp off, plunging the room into darkness. For a few minutes, there’s only the sound of their breaths, Fraser’s considerably slower than Ray’s still-somewhat-nervous ones.

Then Fraser speaks up, quiet voice still loud enough in the stillness of their cabin. “Ray? Would it reassure you to know that your octopus-like tendencies wouldn’t bother me?”

Screw nervousness. Screw panic. Ray’s had about enough of this.

Rolling over, all the way up to the middle of the bed, he narrows his eyes at where Fraser would be if he could see him. “You wanna tell me what you mean by that, Fraser?”

Now it’s Fraser’s turn for nervousness. Ray can tell by the quick inhale, shaky exhale, the rustle that means Fraser’s fidgeting. “I - Well -”

“Spit it out, Fraser.”

“It might save time if you were simply to hug me now,” Fraser says all at once. “That way we’ll get the, er, cuddling, as you phrased it, done sooner rather than later. Then you won’t surprise me with it, and we’ll both be on the same page, and you needn’t worry about my reaction.”

Despite the fact that his heart is beating out double-time, Ray manages to sound perfectly calm as he says, “That’s very logical of you, Fraser.”

“Well, thank you, Ray. I thought so - oof!”

“You suck at being sneaky sometimes,” Ray mutters, as he throws an arm and a leg over Fraser, and yanks him close. “If you wanted to hug me, why didn’t you damn well say so?”

Fraser doesn’t answer, just makes a surprised sound, and shivers all over as he wriggles closer to Ray and plasters himself to as much of Ray as he can. His arms come out to hold Ray, one hand settling on his hip over his boxers, the other curving around Ray’s shoulder and gripping tight enough to hurt for a moment before he loosens his fingers and pats Ray awkwardly, gently, instead. “I didn’t know how,” he admits quietly into Ray’s hair.

Sighing, Ray wraps his arms around Fraser’s waist, and tangles their legs together. “Me, neither, buddy,” he murmurs.

With a soft laugh, Fraser presses a kiss to Ray’s forehead. Closing his eyes, Ray brushes his lips against Fraser’s cheek, and then shuffles down so that he can tuck his head into Fraser’s shoulder. He brushes a kiss there, too, and smiles when Fraser gasps softly above him.

“We’ll work on it,” Ray decides.

“We are on a romantic getaway,” Fraser agrees. “I’m sure we’ll have plenty of opportunities to explore our… uh, our feelings.”

Ray grins, because Fraser said it, and he’d been sure that he’d have to finish that sentence for Fraser. “You betcha,” he agrees, and squeezes Fraser tightly enough that Fraser murmurs a reluctant protest.

Then Fraser pulls the blankets up over them both, and holds Ray just short of crushing him for long moments, before he lets go with a satisfied sigh. Closing his eyes, Ray decides not to think about what might not have happened if they hadn’t been forced to share this cabin together, and decides instead just to make damn sure they don’t waste what they’re been given.

Maybe he won’t be kicking anyone in the head, either.


End file.
